March 2015 Competition Winners

It was a tough month for judging with a multitude of inspirational up cycles to choose from. However with much deliberation below are our 10 runners up and our lucky top prize winner.

The top prize this month of £250 went to Olivia Owens for her stunning update of a solid wood dresser. She sanded the counter top back to the natural wood and mixed her own shade of paint using Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in Duck Egg and a little Graphite. To finish the look she gave it a coat of Furniture Finishing Wax and then highlighted some of the details with a little distressing.

Runners up

Rebecca Marriott has updated a set of attractive solid wood dining chairs with Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in Antique White and sealed the paintwork with a coat of Furniture Finishing Wax. To update them further she has also reupholstered the seat cushions with a sophisticated silver floral fabric.

Anne Pitts has come up with a genius idea for repurposing a treasured but unwearable pair of walking boots. The boots that were used to walk 214 Wainwright Mountains in the Lake District and a further 192 miles coast to coast have been painted in Metallic Bright Gold and preserved forever. Anne now plans to sit plant pots in them and grow flowers.

Debbie Carmichael in preparation for the summer has created a one of a kind garden table, pieced together from two old singer sewing machine bases and scaffolding boards for the top. To achieve this she painted the sewing machine bases with Painter’s Touch Blossom White and then created a rustic effect on the scaffolding boards by watering down the colours Bramwell and Clotted Cream in the Chalky Finish Furniture Paint range.

Leah Dalley has given a kitchen dresser a new lease of life with a coat of Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in Anthracite, bringing out the details on the doors and making it a much more attractive piece. She finished the project with a coat of Furniture Finish Wax to protect and preserve the paintwork.

Suzanne Notley has totally transformed beyond recognition a tired old 1950’s blue wicker storage ottoman/blanket box and made it functional again. She stripped off all the fabric and gave it a coat of Surface Primer, followed by a coat of Painter’s Touch in Blossom White, giving it a crisp white finish. Finished off with a pretty retro print fabric, this now serves as a toy box for her children.

Samantha Feather tackled her first painting project, transforming a nest of tables with Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in Dusky Pink, Belgrave and Sage Green. To decorate she added colour transfers to the top of each table and a coat of Furniture Finishing Wax to seal.

Claire Graves has taken a boring brown 1970’s sideboard and given it a pop of colour to match in with her Turkish style rugs. Using a Surface Primer, Mode Pure Aqua, Mode Sunflower, Mode Lime Green and Painter’s Touch Spa Blue she masked off stripes and sprayed each one a different colour, to add some texture she then sponged the paintwork. Finished off with some strips of washi-tape this now sits pride of place, complementing her colour scheme perfectly.

Amy Hooks has updated an old vase with the use of Metallic Silver and Silver Glitter to fit in with her newly redecorated room. She masked off half of the vase at a 45-degree angle and sprayed the lower half metallic silver, followed by a few light coats of silver glitter to add a little sparkle. An easy update with no need to buy new.

Helen Mackie salvaged a broken table and decided to give it a new top using strips of pallet wood. For each strip she used a different technique and colour, using both Crackle Paint and Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in Antique White and Sage Green. Some sections where dry brushed others were block painted, overall creating a worn country style. The table was given a final coat of Furniture Finishing Wax to seal and prolong the finish.

Helen Cobley has updated an ordinary pine dresser and brought it bang up to date with Chalky Finish Furniture Paint in Winter Grey. By sanding the top back and only painting the main body of the dresser she has created a unique piece of furniture with minimal expense.